Loving Lilia
by Bella Xxxxxx
Summary: Lilia is a homeless young woman, living in an abandoned parking lot in Denver. Victor is an FBI agent and is on the trail of a master criminal. When their paths cross in a dingy back street, the are over the moon. But the criminal is involved with Lilia's past and the must fight to protect each other. One may have to sacrifice themself to save the other...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Lilia**

****Oh crap, this one looks evil. Bikers leathers, tattoos, cigarette, the works.

"You Lilia?" he asks me, his face full of Greedy pleasure. Urgh.

"Yep, that's me. Are you David?" He grins, eyeing me up. Double urgh.

"Yep. You ready, sweetheart? I got a place a few minutes away."

"Great." I don't sound at all enthusiastic. But there's work to be done, bills to be paid, all that. I wouldn't do this if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

I follow him to a big red and black Harley Davison bike and clamber aboard, trying as hard as I can not to hold onto him. Ew, he reeks. Great. We drive about two minutes away. I get the impression that the bike is to impress people, women mostly, rather than to transport him from place to place.

He opens the faded door and dumps his helmet and his gloves onto a broken side table. this place makes me want to jump into a shower right now and get a tetanus shot. Signs of previous drinking accidents are rubbed into the brown carpet, stuff like red wine and puke. Nice. He leads me upstairs into a bare bedroom. He shuts the door and starts taking off his clothes. When he is done, he pushes me onto the bed and lies on top of me undoing my jeggings. Then it is happening. I can't feel a thing and I try not to think about what else this guy has been doing because it might make me gag. Seriously.

When he has stripped me of every ounce of dignity that is still possess, he lets me get dressed and chucks twenty bucks at me, gesturing towards the door. I walk rationally down the stairs, but as soon as I am out of the front door, I run as if an evil vampire himself is chasing me. All the way back home...to my hole in a disused parking lot wall.

I am homeless. I have been a street beggar since my dad lost millions of dollars invested in a ship that sank in the Bermuda Triangle. I was turned out with about a thousand dollars in my pocket. Sounds a lot but its definitely not enough to keep you going for four years on the streets of Denver. I have to prostitute to earn money and I have to use my powers to steal. I know, not a good way off living but I don't know how else to survive.

Minor detail (!) my name is Lilia Kunovitch and I am a savant. I haven't found my soulfinder yet but I'm only 22 so I'm not going to let it worry me. That's a lie. I want my soulfinder so much it's killing me. I have images of him walking up to me in my hovel and scooping me up in his arms and carrying me back to his home. I know that's all romantic crap but its the only thing that keep me sane in this hellhole that is my life.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lilia

My past is a shitstorm. Literally. Moving from place to place. Never having any real friends. Maybe that's what screwed me up so bad. But my dad, ah he was evil and I mean like James Bond criminal evil. He was effectively a terrorist and a drug lord. My dad's business was "sensitive" and we had to move to keep ourselves from being tracked and eventually locked up. That's how he put it. We have lived in 43 houses in 17 years. My mom went along with it because he was rich and all she ever cared about was money. In actuality, she never cared about me. I was an accident and she never took enough pleasure from telling me that. I was the result of a drunken evening and a ripped condom.

Enough about my sad case of a life. More about me. I am 22 this September on the 4th and what I really want more than anything is to find my soulfinder. I guess I haven't told you much about my savant side. My powers mean that I can turn invisible and I can create an aura around people that means they can't hear anything. I know, cool huh? That is how I steal. I know that technically makes me the lowest of the low but it's the only way I can survive. I can't make enough money by the...uh...methods I use. I only make like 49 dollars a weeks and its not enough.

When I was younger I was showered in gifts and clothes and gadgets and all kinds of stuff to make up for the fact that a) we moved around every 2 minutes and b) neither of my parents loved me. I was a spoiled little brat and, when I became homeless all of a sudden, I realized what life is actually like for average people. I was used to being trapped in a big pink bubble, the boundaries of which never extended beyond the back yard. I was used to being treated like Daddy's little girl, always wearing pink, eating cupcakes, the whole spoiled little rich girl image. The only times I was alone of afraid we're when I was in bed at night. I could hear mom and dad banging and mom screaming, probably with pleasure, and it terrified me.

When I was first homeless, I used to cry all the time, thinking "How could Daddy do this to me?!" But then I realized that he never loved me. I mean, he was the one who always bought me gifts and all that shit. But he never would have turned me out if he cared for me at all. Slowly but surely I began to toughen up, beginning to be accustomed to this rough way of living. Now I'm indestructible. Wait, that sounds way too dramatic. No one can hurt me now.

I am sitting in my home (!) going through a guys wallet that I have just stolen. He seems to be quite rich and he's an FBI agent. God, he's hot.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N Lilia's telepathy is in _italics_. Victor's telepathy is in _**bold and italics.**_

Chapter 3

Lilia

I am dreaming. I know it yet I so want it to be real. I am five again and my father has bought me the best present a girl my age could get. A princess dress complete with the shiny high heel shoes and a silver tiara. A stupid thing I know but nearly every girl wants to be a princess when they are five. My dad is smiling as I scream with delight and rip the packet open, eagerly put the dress on over my clothes and strutting around, promptly falling over because the shoes are too big. My dad lets out a big belly laugh and comes to help me up. "I think you better leave the shoes off until you manage to stand up in them." I think he is making fun of me rather than just be funny for the hell of it. I grin at him like he is the best father in the world, which of course he was at that stage. Presents every day, a massive room with as many toys as I wanted, smiles, hugs, although now I understand they were just for show. He didn't really love me; he was just trying to show he did in front of people he wanted to impress.

The scene changes. I am fourteen and I am at the mall with my mum. The mall is filled with people. I can feel the heat of the teeming mass. My mum is standing around looking bored. She clicks her fingers in front of my face to bring me out of my daze and says "I'm going to get a coffee. Make your own way home." I don't look too phased by this because it is her usual way of speaking to me and looking after me although you can't really call it looking after me. I walk into a store named Dior. I walk straight to the make up and perfume section. Then I see it. A face that has haunted me ever since I first walked into that store. It is first a reflection in one of the mirrors you can use to try make up to see if it is the right shade for you. His face is contorted. That's putting it lightly. He has too many scars, showing signs of brutal fights in the past. But the most terrible thing is he's missing an eye. Instead there is just a crater. By the time I turn around he's gone. "Help, help!" I scream, desperately. I am terrified.

"Hello? Who's there? Are you alright?" A male voice calls through the darkness. I wake up breathing heavily and sweating. A dark haired male in a business suit walks into the parking lot and looks around him, as if trying to track where the screaming came from. He looks at me and walks over. "Hey, was that you screaming? Are you ok?" He genuinely looks like he cares.

_Omigod! Omigod! Omigod! _I am saying those words over and o_v_er in my mind. I have dreamt about that man ever since the first night after I saw him. It terrifies me.

_**Oh my god what?**_

I gasp and look at this kind stranger. The romantic Lilia inside me begins to jump around and laugh and scream with happiness. I have found him. Through four simple words, I have found him.

He looks at me and says "Oh my god! It's you. I've finally found you!" He envelopes me in a warm, loving embrace.

"You might not wanna do that." I say. "I haven't showered for a week!" but I hang on just the same.

He seems to notice where he is for the first time. "What's your name, honey?"

"Lilia Kunovitch." I say, hoping it doesn't put him off. I hate my name because it just doesn't suit me. I think my mum chose it to put people off because of the inconveniences I caused her, such as childbirth.

"Victor Benedict." He says. I get a proper look at him now he isn't five metres away. Wow, he's hot. Then I realize that his is the wallet that I stole. I'm wondering how to return it to him without him noticing but he says "I think you have something that belongs to me." I'm about to make up an excuse, say that he dropped it and I happened to pick it up but then I notice he's smiling.

"I'm sorry. I just don't have any other way to live. I've been homeless for four years." I explain, a solitary tear running down my cheek. This is what I have become, a lying, thieving, homeless prostitute. He wipes away the tear with.

"You're not anything like that. I'm amazed that you have managed to survive this long." I budge up and he sits next to me on my filthy mattress, his arms still round me. I turn my head as he turns his and we lock our gaze. I move my hands into his hair, which is, like, the same length as mine, and move my head towards his. He tightens his grip around my waist and suddenly we're kissing. Man, he's a good kisser. Scratch that, he's an amazing kisser. Suddenly all these years of waiting have been worth it. This man, this man is mine. Forever.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N I'm really sorry about the first two chapters being really short but they should be getting longer and longer! Fingers crossed!

Chapter 4

Victor

I sit there, holding her. The feeling was electric, like nothing I have ever felt before. I feel like this is what I was meant to do, why I was born.

"We'd better get you home then." I don't wanna take her to my mom's house straight away because she would be attacked by loads of heat-seeking-missile-like people and she'd probably never recover.

"Not to your parents house?" she says quickly, looking like she'd hide in a hole until all the welcoming and all that crap was over.

I laugh and say "No, not there. I have a flat on the far side of Denver as my work keeps me here a lot and I don't really have time to drive to Wrickenwridge and back every day. Shall we go then?" I stood up and held my hand out to Lilia, noticing for the first time that she's shivering. I take off my black coat and put it around her shoulders. She pulls it tighter round her.

"Wait…" She turns around and fishes under her mattress for something. When she pulls it out she slips it into her pocket (my pocket) before I see it.

She takes my hand and I put our hands in her pocket. She smiles at me. We step out of the abandoned parking lot and I say, "Well, I bet you'll be sorry to see this go!" She laughs and I laugh with her. Her eyes are full of love as we look at each other. It's amazing. It's like I've been injected with some kind of happiness shot and my heart lurches.

As we walk through the streets, people look at us weirdly, like they can't work out why we're together. A respectable looking man in a suit and tie. A no-longer homeless girl, looking like she hasn't washed for decades. I couldn't give a damn. I am so happy right now; I wouldn't care if she was dancing down the street naked.

When we get to my apartment, the first thing she does is shower. I make us dinner, or try to. As, I cook, I can hear her singing and her voice, wow it's amazing. She's singing Clown by Emeli Sande and it couldn't sound better if Emeli Sande herself was singing it. She emerges from the shower, dressed just in a towel, a smile on her face.

"Oh my god. I hadn't realized how good it felt to be clean!" We both laughed. "Also, I have no clothes so unless you want me wandering around in my birthday suit, might I suggest that I borrow some?"

"Well, as amazing you wandering around naked would be, I think the neighbors would freak if they saw so let's find you something to put on. Nice singing by the way."

"You heard it?" She looked embarrassed and now I wish I hadn't said anything.

"Yeah. It was amazing." If you're going to mention it, make it nice. That's my philosophy.

"Thanks." she said shyly.

I wander into the bedroom, thinking that I'd like to see what's under that towel.

_Dirty boy!_

_**You weren't meant to hear about that!**_

_Too late! You're rumbled!_

I go over to my closet and pulled out a blue striped shirt and a pair of boxers. She looks at them skeptically, smiling, eyebrows raised, and I say "Its either them or suit trousers! We'll need to go get you some clothes tomorrow!"

"Yep and I'm good, thanks. I'll take the underpants!" She smiles and then starts laughing as the smoke alarm sounds. "Go on, James Kent. Go save the dinner!"

"Who's he?" She is beautiful when she laughs. Her blonder hair shimmers as she shakes her head. Her blue eyes laugh when she does. I am so lucky.

"He's a famous chef, duh-brain! Now, get outta here while I get changed!" She makes shooing movements with her hands and then tries to push me, but fails.

"I'm going, I'm going!" I walk out of the bedroom and then try and save the burning dinner.

A few hours later we had eaten (I had managed to save the lasagna), watched a film (Bride Wars, which was crap), And now she had fallen asleep on my shoulder. I rest my head on hers and breathe in her fresh smell. Then I realize how much I'd been missing.

Minutes later, I lift her up in my arms and carry her into the bedroom. I lay her down on the bed and pull the covers over her.

I remember her thing in my coat pocket. Telling myself that it is mere interest, I walk through to the bathroom where the coat rack is and fish in the pocket. I pull out a torn photograph but it is unmistakably her and her father. Then I notice something. Something that freezes the blood in my veins. The criminal I have to track is her father.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lilia

I wake up sometime in late morning I think. The sunlight streams through the curtains. I turn over onto my back.

"Morning beautiful." Victor's voice fills my ears. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Your bed is really comfortable." I suppose I should think that though because I have slept on a mattress as thin as a carrier bag for years.

He laughs. "It's not that comfortable. I imagine you just think that because you haven't slept in one for ages."

"That's just what I was thinking. Am I that predictable?" We both get up and I have another dilemma to do with clothes. "I don't have anything to wear today."

"We're going to solve that though aren't we?" He gets up and I realize this is the first time I've properly seen him. He has amazing abs, I mean like amazeballs. His hair is really long. His face is absolutely gorgeous. He could be compared to Taylor Launtner and easily win. "Like what you see?" A cheeky smile spread across his face.

"You really need to work on the modesty thing, babe!" I slap him lightly on the bum.

"You really need to keep your hands to yourself, hon!" but he's smiling.

He chucks me my old clothes, which evidently went in the wash last night. They look so old and tattered.

After breakfast, we head out to the main shopping mall in Denver in his Maserati. Wow. Vick managed to get my old bank account active again and we are going to pick up a new credit card.

We park in the underground parking lot and walk into the mall. We spot the bank and he walks into the bank and says, "Hi, I'm Victor Benedict and my fiancée needs to pick up a new credit card. I sent the details to you earlier this morning."

The bank assistant looks at him and says, "There's a 24 hour transition between applying for a new card and getting it."

_Fiancée? _

_**Bear with me, babe. It's the best way to get people to do what you want.**_

_Ok, but I may have to hold you to that in the future!_

"Sir?" She looks at him and she can tell he's not really listening.

"Look, hon, I'm FBI and I need this done as quick as possible. It's urgent." She takes one look and she can tell he's not kidding. Or he looks like he isn't.

"One second, sir." She walks off toward the office and comes back two minutes later with a card and a pen. She tells me to sign the card and a sheet of paper and then ushers us out of the door with a "Have a nice day."

"I swear you're not meant to abuse your power." I say, smiling at this new side of Victor.

"Yeah, well, she was pissing me off." He smiles and I hold out my hand. He takes it and we wander into the mall together.

When we reach the main shopping area, he says, "I don't think this is really my department. How about I go grab a coffee and you come and find me after you buy yourself some stuff?" He looks awkward.

"Sure babe. I'll come find you." I kiss him on he cheek and wander off.

The first store I go into is Gucci. I buy myself tops, underwear, jeans, a purse and a handbag. I notice that the card machine says I have over a million dollars on this baby. I gasp and then I remember that my dad put in money every month for me. Thank you, dad, I say silently. Then I go and buy myself make up and perfume and all kinds of stuff I need. The last store I enter is Dior. This store is where I first saw that man. I don't see him today though and hurry so I don't catch a glimpse.

When I finally go and meet up with Victor, his jaw drops as he sees how much stuff I have bought. "I think were lucky I brought the car today. Jesus, hon."

"Hey, my dad put like way over a million on my card. I have to spend it at some point!" I grin and shrug.

"Hey, talking of your dad…I don't know how to break this to you but um…I am on the case of a master criminal at work and…" He looks so sorry to say this.

"It's my dad isn't it?" My eyes fill with tears.

"I'm so sorry." He reaches in for a hug and I give a teary laugh, as he has to fight his way through multiple shopping bags. "Hey, let's get you home and changed."

When I emerge from the bedroom an hour later, I am wearing a faceful of credit-card-expensive slap, Yves Saint Laurent jeans, a Gucci top and Dior high heels. Victor walks up to me and says, "I told mom that I found you and she and the rest of the family want to meet you."

"Great, they're gonna hate me." I am so nervous.

"No they're not. They are gonna love you."

Before leaving I grab my new handbag and shove my purse and my photo of my dad in it.

We get in the car and Victor says, "Relax babe they're gonna love you." Then I turn my head as he turns his and we kiss.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Victor

We speed along the highway towards Wrickenwridge. Clown comes onto the radio. "Hey, it's your song!" I say to her. She gives me a small smile but turns to look out of the window again. If I was meeting my family for the first time, I would be scared too.

As we pull up into the drive, Xav is standing outside with Crystal. Lilia looks tense, her shoulders up and her teeth clenched. I kiss her passionately by the car as if to say, hey it'll be ok. I hold out my hand and she grips it tightly as we walk up to them and Xav says, "Vick, control yourself! Hey, Lilia. Welcome to the family. I'm Xav Benedict and this is my soulfinder Crystal. I'm the 5th oldest Benedict brother."

"5th oldest?! How many of there are you?" She looks shocked.

"There are seven of us, hon," I say to her, as I squeeze her hand.

"You could have warned me, babe." I laugh loudly.

"Warned is probably an accurate description." says Xav and Crystal laughs.

"It certainly is. At any rate, he should have warned you about Xav." Says Crystal. He tickles her and she shrieks in indignation. Lilia smiles. I breathe a sigh of relief that Xav is helping her relax. Then he kisses Crystal and walks towards the door.

They lead us into the house. We walk into the sitting room and everyone is standing or sitting, ready to meet her. She retreats behind her hair and I put a hand on her shoulder, protectively.

My mom comes forward first. "Hi, dear. My name is Karla and I am Victor's mom. This is Saul." He waves in our direction. "This is Trace, Diamond, Uriel, Will, Sophie, you've already met Xav and Crystal, Yves, Phoenix, Zed and Sky." They each smile and wave at Lilia. She looks less shy now she sees there are more girls there. There is an awkward silence for about a minute, as no one knows what to say.

Sky, of course, breaks it. "Gorgeous Gucci bag. When did you get that?" She walks over. Zed rolls his eyes and follows Will and the others as they slowly disperse; now they have all been introduced.

Lilia smiles and says "This morning actually. I went and bought myself some new clothes in Denver."

"Oh my God! You're so lucky. I hardly ever get to go shopping." Sky looks up at Lilia with kind eyes. When I say up, I mean up because Lilia is really tall in high heels and Sky is really short.

"Maybe we could go together sometime." Yes! Lilia is properly smiling now.

"I'd like that. Could we go tomorrow?" Sky looks so excited, its quite cute.

"Yeah sure. I was also thinking of getting myself a car. What do you think, babe?" She turns to me and I feign confusion.

"What?"

"I was thinking about getting a car."

"Why?" I'm not feigning confusion this time.

"My dad was gonna get me one but then he…yeah so um…I passed my test and everything. One of the few things I kept was my drivers license so I really wanna get a car."

"Sure. What would you be looking at?" I wondered what type of car she'd get. Whether she is a Mini Cooper kinda gal or a Maserati person, like me.

"Probably an Aston Martin. They are gorgeous."

"We can go to the store tomorrow. Then you can come pick up Sky." I grin and sit down, pulling her onto my lap. She yelps but I can tell she's enjoying it. We embrace each other and sit like that for a while.

"Boys, ladies, it's lunch time." Mom calls from the kitchen door.

"Hey, how come we're not men?" Xav yells.

"Because you're way too immature!" yells mom and with that, she retreats into the kitchen.

"Come on, hon." I say to Lilia and I hold my hand out to her. She stands up and walks with me into the dining room. Xav and Zed both rush in, nearly knocking into Lilia.

"Woah, watch it guys!"

"Sorry, Lilia, but it was Zed's fault!" comes Xav's sassy response.

"Hey, it was so you, Xav!" yells Zed.

Soon everyone is seated at the table. Mom walks in with a big dish of curry and Diamond follows suit with a big dish of rice. She dishes the curry out onto everyone's plates, giggling as dad gives her a thank you kiss.

Once everyone has started their meal, Mom looks at Lilia and says, "So, Lilia, tell me where you and Victor met."

I am expecting her to make something up but she tells everyone everything, about her past and how she was made homeless and even how she stole my wallet.

"You nicked his wallet? I'm amazed he didn't treat you to one of his "I'm too scary for my shirt" looks." puts in Xav, helpfully. She laughs as I pretend to growl at him.

Mom says, "I'm amazed you managed to keep going like you did. I would never have managed it."

"Understatement of the century." says Yves and everyone laughs.

When dinner is over everyone decides to play sport in the back garden. To my surprise, Lilia joins in. We are playing football. It is Trace's team and Uriel's team. I am on Uriel's; Lilia is on Trace's. It is first to 25 goals. I score then Zed scores 14 (unsurprisingly) but while he is about to score his 15th, Lilia comes in to tackle him. He dribbles closer to the goal as Lilia weave her way towards him. He kicks the ball amazingly hard towards the goal and it smacks right into Lilia's stomach.

She immediately collapses, retching and bent over. I run to her side and stroke her back. "Zed, you retard. Why don't you watch where you're kicking, Jesus." She whimpers in a helpless way and is crying so I pick her up in my arms and carry her inside.

She's sitting there clutching her stomach like it's on fire. Will runs in and says, "I think it's really serious. I can sense a lot of danger."

"Right. Thanks, Will. Can you come with me to take her to the hospital?" I must look so scared because he nods and tells everyone else telepathically what we're going to do.

_Vick, I'm sorry. I didn't realize she was so close._

Zed telepathically sound really upset but I don't reply. I'm too worried.

We get her into Will's Land Cruiser. He drives, I sit in the back with Lilia's head resting on my knee.

When we reach the emergency room, I pick Lilia up and rush into the reception.

One of the nurses looks up and everything comes out. "My girlfriend just got hit with a foot ball really hard in the stomach and she can't move and I'm really worried."

"Let's get her on a bed and we'll get the doctors to examine her. You need to wait out here, ok?" She gives me a sympathetic smile but I did not return it.

"Ok." I find a chair and sat down, too crazed with worry to notice the other people around me.

"Vick, it's gonna be ok. She's gonna be fine." Will puts a hand on my shoulder. I smile at him gratefully.

40 painful minutes later, the doctor emerges from the room. I stand up eagerly, but he gestures for me to sit.

"Are you Mr Benedict?" he says.

"Yes. Is Lilia going to be ok?"

"Well, her appendix ruptured and she will have to have emergency surgery to remove it. We also think that her fallopian tube has been damaged and that may either make it difficult or stop you altogether from having children. It is also on the records that she has had treatment for leukemia in the past and that may restart due to the force of the accident. I'm sorry." He stands up and walks away.

I am not ashamed to say I cried just then. Will understood and he looked horrified. He pulled me into a hug and I hung on and the words were just going round and round in my head.


End file.
